1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to positioning members, and more particularly, to a positioning member for securing an add-on board to a motherboard installed inside an electronic device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With constant advancement and development of technology, electronic devices have become indispensable to modern people's daily lives. An electronic device (for example, a host computer or a server) nowadays is demanded to have not only a reduced size but also enhanced performance. To meet with such a demand, more electronic components are required to be accommodated in a limited space. Among them, installation of an add-on board on a motherboard mounted inside an electronic device is an example that the functionality of the electronic device is improved.
FIG. 1 shows a partially perspective view of an add-on board 11 disposed on a motherboard 12 installed inside a housing 13 of an electronic device in a known manner. As shown in the drawing, disposed on the add-on board 11 are a connection port 112 and two sockets 111 corresponding to two plugs 121 disposed on the motherboard 12. For the add-on board 11 to be electrically connected to and disposed on the motherboard 12, the two sockets 111 of the add-on board 11 have to be coupled to the two plugs 121 on the motherboard 12. This allows the connection port 112 of the add-on board 11 to reach into an opening 131 formed on the housing 13 of the electronic device so that the connection port 112 is exposed to the ambient via the opening 131 on the housing 13 of the electronic device. Accordingly, a connector (not shown) of an external cable is able to be inserted into the connection port 112.
However, in the situation where a connector of an external cable is inserted into the connection port 112 of the add-on board 11, as the add-on board 11 is coupled to the two plugs 121 on the motherboard 12 via mere two sockets 111, during the coupling process both the two sockets 111 and the two plugs 121 are subjected to an insertion-related force exerted by the connector of the external cable. When in the presence of an excessive force, the add-on board 11 tends to be forced to inwardly move such that the coupling of the sockets 111 of the add-on board 11 to the plugs 121 of the motherboard 12 may be damaged. In an even worse case, both the sockets 111 and the plugs 121 may even deform to thereby damage the add-on board 11 and the motherboard 12.
In view of the aforesaid drawback, a method for securing an add-on board to a motherboard and thereby installing the add-on board inside the housing of an electronic device is then proposed. Referring to FIG. 2, two bolts 222 are disposed on a motherboard 22 mounted with two plugs 221, and two apertures 213 corresponding to the bolts 222 are formed in the add-on board 21 equipped with a connection port 212 and two sockets 211. After the coupling of the sockets 211 of the add-on board 21 to the plugs 221 of the motherboard 22, screws 24 are screwed into the bolts 222 via the apertures 213 such that the add-on board 21 is secured in position to the motherboard 22. In the meantime, the connection port 212 of the add-on board 21 is allowed to be exposed through the opening 231 formed on the housing 23 of the electronic device, so as to be connected to a connector (not shown) of an external cable.
However, the aforesaid design of locking the add-on board 21 on the motherboard 22 by means of the bolts 222 and screws 24 has its drawbacks. The assembly/disassembly of the add-on board 21 requires a tool to carry out, that entails trivial and labor-consuming steps. Moreover, it necessitates the formation of a plurality of apertures 213 on the add-on board 21 and the bolts 222 on the motherboard 22 respectively. In consequence the layout density of the add-on board 21 decreases and the manufacturing cost of the add-on board 21 and the motherboard 22 increases.
Accordingly, an issue that currently needs urgent solution involves overcoming the drawbacks of the aforementioned prior art.